Individuals have been operating vehicles as a means of transportation for decades. Recently, more and more vehicles have incorporated autonomous (or semi-autonomous) operational features or modes, in which an on-board computer or mobile device associated with a vehicle may operate the vehicle with little to no human input. However, vehicles having autonomous operational modes may also include manual features or modes, in which a human operator controls at least some aspects of the operation of the vehicle. Such vehicles may occasionally switch from operating autonomously to operating manually, or vice versa, for various reasons.
Autonomous vehicle operation may have some advantages over manual vehicle operation, but may also have some additional safety risks, for instance, in certain areas in which autonomous vehicle operation is less common, or in certain unpredictable conditions. Similarly, manual vehicle operation may have some advantages over autonomous vehicle operation, but may also have some additional safety risks, for instance, in certain areas in which manual vehicle operation is less common or in certain conditions in which human operators may be tired, distracted, or otherwise impaired. Accordingly, pedestrians or other bystanders who are aware of the operational mode of a nearby vehicle may proceed differently depending on whether the nearby vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode or a manual mode. However, pedestrians generally have no way of knowing the current operational mode of a nearby vehicle, let alone when the operational mode of a nearby vehicle has changed.